biades had formally opened the
meeting and explained its object. For this he was chided by the
Corinthian Adeimantus, who said,--

"Themistocles, those who in the public festivals rise up before the
proper signal are scourged."

"True," said Themistocles; "but those who lag behind the signal win no
crowns."

When the debate was formally opened, Themistocles was doubly urgent in
his views, and continued his arguments until Adeimantus burst out in a
rage, bidding him, a man who had no city, to be silent.

This attack drew a bitter answer from the insulted Athenian. If he had
no city, he said, he had around him two hundred ships, with which he
could win a city and country better than Corinth. Then he turned to
Eurybiades, and said,--

"If you will stay and fight bravely here, all will be well. If you
refuse to stay, you will bring all Greece to ruin. If you will not stay,
we Athenians will migrate with our ships and families. Then, chiefs,
when you lose an ally like us, you will remember what I say, and regret
what you have done."

[Illustration: THE VICTORS AT SALAMIS.]

These words convinced Eurybiades. Without the Athenian ships the fleet
would indeed be powerless. He asked for no vote, but gave the word that
they should stay and fight, and bade the captains to make ready for
battle. Thus it was that at dawn of day the fleet, instead of being in
full flight, remained drawn up in battle array in the Bay of Salamis.
The Peloponnesian chiefs, however, were not content. They held a secret
council, and resolved to steal secretly away. This treacherous purpose
came to the ears of Themistocles, and to prevent it he took a desperate
course. He sent a secret message to Xerxes, telling him that the Greek
fleet was about to fly, and that if he wished to capture it he must at
once close up both ends of the strait, so that flight would be
impossible.

He cunningly represented himself as a secret friend of the Persian king,
who lost no time in taking the advice. When the next day's dawn was at
hand the discontented chiefs were about to fly, as they had secretly
resolved, when a startling message came to their ears. Aristides, a
noble Athenian who had been banished, but had now returned, came on the
fleet from Salamis and told them that only battle was left, that the
Persians had cooped them in like birds in a cage, and that there was
nothing to do but to fight or surrender.

This disturbing message was not at first believ